The invention relates to a protective garment or poncho in combination with a cushion for a person to sit on. This combination of poncho and cushion is used against unexpected weather during an outing, such as watching an outdoor game or parade.
In order to be well prepared for sudden changes in the weather, spectators to outdoor events usually have to carry a number of items, such as a blanket, raincoat, seat cushion, umbrella, etc. Carrying these items can be inconvenient and bulky. More often than not, the spectator is ill-prepared for changes in weather.
Seats in stadiums and outdoor arenas or amphitheaters are usually uncomfortable. For example, most seats at the stadiums are made of hard plastic or wood material. Seats at amphitheaters are typically bench seats consisting of long flat piece of woods. These seats can be extremely uncomfortable, even numbing, for people to sit on for extended periods. The experience can be made even worse when the spectator has to face unpredictable weather. The day may be sunny and then turn bad at a moment""s notice. A downpour may come suddenly leaving the spectators scrambling for raingear, if they have them.
Previous attempts have been made to address some of these problems. Among these attempts are devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,060,852 and 4,138,742 issued to Meeks on Dec. 6, 1977 and Feb. 13, 1979, respectively. These two patents disclose the combination of a garment with a cushion. The garment can be folded into the interior of the cushion, which has two halves that open and close similar to a clamshell using either a zipper or a hook and loop fastener. The garments or ponchos in both patents are similar in design, with a body portion, a hood, arm slots and a cushion attached to outside of the poncho.
These two inventions are bulky and the protective garment would take considerable amount of time to put on. A spectator would not be able to put the poncho on while sitting on the cushion, but would instead have to stand up unfasten the cushion, unroll the garment, unbutton the front of the garment, put it on and then button the front of the garment. Then the spectator would have to fasten the two halves of the cushion together before being able to sit back down. By the time this process is complete, the spectator may already be soaking wet from a downpour.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,755, issued to Crumby on Feb. 1, 1983, discloses a poncho having an enclosed area at the center of the rear panel. The enclosed area may be inflated to form a cushion for sitting. A spectator would have to inflate the cushion before he or she can sit on it. This process can be time consuming and tiring because a spectator usually has to inflate the cushion by himself. Whenever it rains a spectator has to stand up and unroll the poncho before he or she can put on the poncho.
Therefore there is a need for a combination of poncho and cushion that is easy to transport and that can be quickly converted for use as a poncho. There is a further need for such a combination that facilitates a spectator""s ability to sit on the cushion.
The present invention is directed to a combination of a poncho and a padded cushion. A poncho is generally a protective garment for human use. The garment includes a sheet of waterproof material with a hood having a drawstring attached to the sheet. The padded cushion includes a cover, a soft block inside the cover, and an extension sheet attached to the cover. A strip of fastener is attached to one side of the free end of the extension sheet and another strip of fastener is attached to one side of the cover.
The protective garment protects a wearer and the cushion while the wearer is wearing the poncho. For storage, the protective garment can be folded and rolled into the extension sheet. The extension sheet is rolled toward the padded cushion until the strip of fastener on the extension sheet is attached to the strip of fastener on the cover.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a combination of cushion and poncho so that the poncho can be quickly put on while a user is still able to remain seated on the cushion. Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of cushion and poncho so that when the poncho is in use it would protect a user and a cushion from the rain, snow or other foul weather element.
Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of cushion and poncho so that a user may be able to wear the poncho while the user is commuting without worry about misplacing the cushion. Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of cushion and poncho so that the poncho is easily folded or rolled for storage.
Other benefits and certain objects of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following written description and associated figures.